Comments on: Wills And Other Unpleasant Topics

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #245 – "Dollar Doodles" edition. Share My Live

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:46:52 +0000

[...] Care?Darwin’s Finance presents Top 10 Degrees By Starting Salary 2010.Frugal Babe presents Wills And Other Unpleasant Topics.Doughroller presents Are Discount Health Plans a Scam?Redeeming Riches presents What is Your [...]

By: Marsha

Marsha — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:35:02 +0000

Before deciding between software and an attorney, know the law in your state. Consider what your will is for: peace of mind, distribution of assets, ensuring that your estate can be executed by your designated executor rather than tied up in court. Talk about these things with your spouse. As long as you’re talking about difficult subjects, you might also consider advance directives. What happens if you don’t die but are severely injured and not expected to recover normal functioning? Make it easy for your family to honor your wishes by letting them know what those wishes are. End of life medical decisions can create even more chaos than family disagreement over a will and possessions.

By: Jason @ MyMoneyMinute

Jason @ MyMoneyMinute — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:34:40 +0000

@MAM — just to let you & others know, typically a will package is done on a flat-fee basis, not on an hourly rate. Only super complicated e$tate$ ($$$) may end up with hourly fees, because they’re might be entities or trusts set up to help avoid estate tax down the road.

By: MAM

MAM — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:50:17 +0000

One good use for legal software is as a sort of practice run. Your time with an attorney probably will cost you by the hour, and if you’ve thought about the answers to all the questions ahead of time you won’t have to spend extra time in the office when you’re blindsided by a question or realize the spouses don’t agree on an issue. –Mary

By: AL

AL — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:51:03 +0000

I absolutely suggest you use a qualified attorney! My grandmother used the attorney on staff at the company she worked for to write the will, advance directive, etc. – “one of her perks” at work.

Unfortunately, as things fell apart with her health, so did the paperwork created by the attorney. He had used the term “upon my [her] death” in all the paperwork, which meant that none of her wishes would be considered until her death (of course this was fine with the will, but not with the other paperwork).

Fortunately, a doctor noticed the wording and she recovered enough for us to have things redone, but we could have been dealing with a much larger problem.

I got my frugal streak from her, but will be paying later this spring to have mine affairs ordered by a true professional. Good Luck!

By: Bet

Bet — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:35:39 +0000

I’m sure someone else has commented on this, but I don’t have time to read through all the comments. So, I’m gonna hit you with the screaming yikes that hit me when I read you were interested in do it yourself Wills.

Don’t.

My dad was a probate attorney. Your will is not simple if it involves children. Not to mention the fact that do it yourself wills are not good in many states (in Minnesota they are NOT!). These sites will tell you that they are good in all states, but they aren’t.

Our will cost $800 start to finish. They did a guardianship and living wills, advance directives, etc. Worth every penny!

Don’t do your own. It will only cost your kids if you both die in an accident or something terrible like that.

By: gorillabuns

gorillabuns — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:33:00 +0000

just looking at all these answers have confused me even more!

By: Irene

Irene — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:54:30 +0000

Let’s just say you get what you pay for. Any will is never straightforward. Your situation is unique to you, and no cut-and-paste template will see any loopholes or potential things missed out. There is no guarantees that your family will be 100% on board with your wishes. Death is a very emotional thing for people, and sometimes the worst comes out in these situations. We are currently doing up our wills right now, and our lawyer friend has told us some really bad stories of people who have poorly written wills, never mind no wills. You’ll be surprised how often thing can get contested and how people will fight over your children and their inheritance. It’s just not worth it. Go the lawyer route.

For me, the several hundred dollars spent means peace of mind for us and a good future for our son. I never want my son to be caught up in a legal battle that can last years potentially. The several hundred dollars is an investment for his future, not a liability. That’s how I see it.

By: Cat

Cat — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:56:19 +0000

I used LegalZoom.com. My uncle (a lawyer) looked it over and said it was about the same as anything he would produce. If your situation is complex- businesses, lots of assets, lots of kids- use a lawyer. But legal zoom did a great job on my simple will.

By: ctreit

ctreit — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:18:16 +0000

I think almost any will is better than none as long as you fulfill your state’s requirements for a valid will. We used an attorney because we have some complicated issues and we did not quite trust that a will software would be able (a) to account for our special circumstances (you only find out after you buy it), and (b) to give us good suggestions how to provision for various possibilities.